Brussels, 16/04/2008 (Agence Europe) - For his first official visit to the European institutions, Nouri al-Maliki, on Wednesday 16 April, took stock of the situation in Iraq and progress on cooperation between his country and the EU. Speaking before the committee on foreign affairs of the European Parliament and after his meeting with the President of the European Commission, José Manuel Barroso, the Prime Minister of Iraq particularly stressed his commitment in favour of a more democratic and safer country for all Iraqis, whatever their origin or religion.
"I cannot claim that Iraq is a stable country, but compared to how it was a year and a half ago, we have made significant progress", Mr al-Maliki told members of the European Parliament on Wednesday morning. The day after a wave of attacks against various cities of the country, on a day which saw some of the most violent attacks of recent months (leaving at least 60 dead), the situation is far from under control. However, "the phantom of civil war no longer exists”, said Mr al-Maliki, who reiterated his willingness to ensure the rule of law and respect for human rights. The new Iraq “refuses to be a playground for regional power games” and would like its neighbours to apply a “policy of non-interference in Iraqi internal affairs”, he said, indicating Iran, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Kuwait. Then, referring implicitly to Iran, he also called for the “roots of terrorism” to be dried up and for the infiltration of armed combatants on Iraqi soil to be prevented. Determined to defeat terrorism, “we are more confident today than before that we are close to definitive victory against Al Qaeda leader and its outlaw allies", said Mr al-Maliki, reminding his audience that since he arrived in power, the government has recommended national reconciliation. The Constitution protects the rights of religious minorities, guarantees pluralism and liberties, but the reconstruction of the country will also be achieved by means of free elections.
The Iraqi governmental forces, which have been engaged since last month in a conflict with the "Mahdi Army" in Bassorah, have so far been unable to disarm the militia of the Shi'ite imam Moqtada Al Sadr. Mr al-Maliki explained that the objective was to prevent the armed militia from interfering with the forthcoming provincial elections, scheduled for 1 October, and from dictating electoral behaviour. This approach to the militia is shared by all of the political parties and applies in each province and for all political or religious entities, Mr al-Maliki stressed. Instability and government aid are helping to promote the return of refugees (more than 2 million of whom are currently in neighbouring countries), but it will not be possible for them to take part in the forthcoming elections. However, internally displaced persons will be able to vote (although the technical procedure for this has yet to be settled). Mr al-Maliki also repeated his wishes to see a gradual withdrawal of American troops, speaking against their immediate departure. This would lead to "chaos", he said, adding that "it will, therefore, not be a direct and spontaneous withdrawal, but a structured withdrawal".
In a resolution adopted in March, the Parliament recommended to the Council and the Commission to increase Community aid to the country both quantitatively and qualitatively (EUROPE 9621). The EP will support "very concrete actions as far as institutional building and infrastructures are concerned", Hans-Gert Pöttering confirmed on Wednesday after his meeting with Mr al-Maliki. The Europeans may also provide technical assistance and expertise to Iraq to help it to manage its natural resources better, was another wish voiced by Mr al-Maliki, who stated that a law on the oil and gas sector was currently being adopted (without any further details as to date for this). This text, which aims to resolve the question of the division of oil and gas revenue between the 18 provinces of Iraq, will help Iraq to build new partnerships and develop investments, the Iraqi Prime Minister explained. His discussions with President Barroso and, earlier, with the Commissioner for Energy, Andris Piebalgs, in any case confirmed an imminent energy agreement with the EU. "Negotiations on the question of gas are going very well", said Mr Barroso, who noted that "there are already some extremely concrete elements on the table, and we are set to reach an agreement in a few weeks' time". An agreement (Memorandum of Understanding), allowing the EU to diversify its sources of supply more, may be reached next March when the Iraqi Energy Minister, said the President of the Commission. In a press release, Iraq said that it was ready to sign the MoU “at any time”. (A.B.)